Desert Blossoms
by nudgenudgewinkwink
Summary: Henri and Adela are lost in Ivalice, and not the Ivalice they remember. The gang reform to help them return home and escape their intractable pursuers, learning some truths they rather not have along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Archades

"I don't like it here."

Henri for a brief moment took his gaze off the distant skyline of Archades, the city of his birth, and instead turned his deep blue eyes on his little sister.

They had traveled quite a distance by foot even by his exceedingly rough attempts at estimating it and yet little Adela, who had only just turned six years, had not once complained. Until now it seemed.

"This is home. We're home," he said quietly, sinking down until he knelt at his sister's side.

Adela's head of vibrant and loose golden curls didn't turn to face him, instead it seemed to sink lower to the ground. "Feels wrong here. I want to go home. Real home!"

"I know. I'm trying. We just... we just got to get inside the city. We'll find old Thomas - remember him?"

His little sister nodded fiercely at the familiar name.

"Well, we need to find him in the old quarter. He'll help us!"

"Then we go home?"

Henri let a small smile creep the edges of his lips upwards. "Yeah. We're going home. Mom and Dad will be so worried about us by now."

"I don't want them to be angry! We're not meant to go past the door!" Adela blurted out in a rush with her own warm blue eyes finally meeting her brother's gaze at last.

"They won't. Promise. We didn't have a choice in the matter. Remember?"

Henri turned his attention to the road ahead and grimaced at the dark ominous rain clouds he'd spotted earlier starting to burst their downpour over the countryside in the distance.

Without blinking, he took off his own light cloak with hood and draped it over Adela's own. She needed more protection from the elements then he did.

After all he was nine years going on ten. He needed to keep her safe until they could find their way back to their parents.

Henri took a firm grip of Adela's tiny hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Let's go, eh? Not too far now. Mayhaps we'll reach the outskirts before twilight."

They set off along the winding road that led to the distant walled city of Archades, disappearing easily among their fellow tired and dusty travelers, their small stature helping them achieve that task with little fanfare.

* * *

Thomas Buh Farmisa was not a man used to guests. He'd spent the majority of his adult life in work that was not conductive to pleasant interactions with others.

He'd worked hard however, earned his Chops, and even had once been counted amongst the finest at the Draklor laboratory.

Not so now.

He'd seen the writing on the walls early and left with enough time that he could continue his work in a small slummy home he'd purchased in Old Archades, hidden from the oversight of the young Emperor and his ever watchful Judges.

Therefore it surprised him greatly when a number of small raps had struck his door.

It had turned into a terrible night with wind and rains lashing the city and its luckless inhabitants. Not a night for visiting indeed.

He'd cautiously opened the heavy front door and was again immensely puzzled to find a pair of children peering up at him. Drenched and very sorry looking but children none-the-less.

Thomas had made to send them on their way when the boy forced passed him into the house dragging the small girl in his wake.

"We need shelter, sir. For the night at least."

"I'm no charity. A shelter for the poor lies a mere two streets over. The Alley of Silence," Thomas retorted.

The boy glared at him. "Thomas Buh Farmisa, we will be staying here and you will listen to my tale. You will find it most interesting."

"And how so?"

"Your life's work. We came here because of it. We need your help to go home again."

* * *

Thomas sat at the kitchen table idly watching the boy make sure his sister was fed and fed well.

To Thomas's initial insult and later fascination, the boy had taken one look at what Thomas had initial offered before discarding it.

The child... this Henri... he'd set about making a bowl of some strange foreign food from what was in Thomas's kitchen, a meal that he'd claimed was taught by his mother and would help keep the girl well.

_And yet made none for himself,_ Thomas noted.

Henri was soaking wet. Far more than the girl, Adela. Thomas saw immediately how this state of affairs had occurred.

The boy fussed over his sister like a mother cockatrice and Thomas, in spite of himself, grudgingly offered what clothes he could that would fit them to replace their own when he saw how desperately they both shivered.

So now Henri wore some of Thomas's tatty work-gear while Adela had one of his more valuable shirts on as a dress.

"We have much to discuss," Thomas pressed when Henri started to clear the bowls from the table.

"Of course. If you would be so kind as to wait, I would like to get Adela to rest first."

Thomas noted the implication in his words - things that were not fit for a child her age to hear. Laughable considering how young Henri was and that he had spoken those very words.

"Please do. When you return I shall have some teas ready."

* * *

The cups Thomas had poured not half an hour before sat unfinished on the wooden table as Henri's tale came to its conclusion.

Henri's voice wavered as he added "I didn't know where else to turn. There's no one who would even believe me. Except you."

"It is quite... unbelievable."

"But you do believe me, right? You are my only hope of rectifying this."

Thomas peered at Henri, seeing the stark honesty mixed with fear on his face.

"Is this why you didn't want Adela here?"

Henri's head ducked low. "She thinks I have a plan. She believes that I will get her home but... if you can't help us than I don't know what to do."

Thomas waved his right hand in a vaguely soothing gesture. "Rest easy, Henri. I'll help you."

"You will?"

"I believe you are indeed telling the truth. If my work got you here than it will get you back home."

Henri's carefully austere face burst out in an almost infectious broad smile.

"Thank you! Thank you so very much!"

Thomas sniffed. "Get yourself to bed, Henri. You'll need lots of rest as we'll start work in the 'moro."

The boy, after more profuse declarations of gratitude, finally rose from his seat and stepped lightly across to the closed door that led to the room he would share with Adela.

He paused briefly with one hand pressed on the wooden frame before he turned to Thomas.

"How did you know I was telling the truth?"

Thomas snorted. "You look like him. Act like him. Your father I mean. Go on. Get some rest."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Arrival

"Oh gods! Vaan! Just move!" Penelo said exasperated. She had nearly just given up.

Her partner-in-crime did this every-time they came into port; Vaan would be strolling through, spot a pretty worker and then every plan or schedule was tossed to the side.

Vaan duly ignored Penelo's shout, focused instead on the blushing young woman who served as the Archades Aerodrome main receptionist.

Penelo, with a dramatic rolling of her eyes, strode out with no further comment. Vaan could find his own way to the palace.

It was the fifth anniversary of Larsa's ascension to Emperor and it called as usual for celebrations. Larsa had, for reasons that eluded Penelo, insisted that they arrive to join him and the other varied dignitaries – he was especially insistent as they had not been available for his last birthday.

She had always felt so uncomfortable amongst what were the high society of all the nations of Ivalice. Larsa had never cared, instead he'd turned to guilting her with his profuse sorrow at her attempted refusal. She'd swiftly capitulated once he'd started to work his charm.

_Arcadia and Ivalice itself was in safe hands considering how fast he'd gotten her to fold with just words_ she'd thought.

It was hard to imagine he was eighteen. It seemed to her that she'd only just blinked and he was now an adult. Well, he'd never really been a child she remembered with a brief smile.

In the year gap during which they hadn't seen each other, from Larsa's fourteenth to fifteenth birthday, he'd jumped clear of her in height. Since then he'd grown only taller and broader, reminding her more of Vayne every time she saw him.

She'd commented on it briefly once, on how similar he'd looked to Vayne with his hair in that same long style. Penelo hadn't meant it to be a slight and kept her voice as playful as she could. But he'd clearly seen something in her expression he hadn't liked and a mere hour later Larsa had the long black locks shorn off until his hair had only enough length to frame his face.

She'd tried to broach it, to apologize but Larsa refused. He'd waved away the conversation with a wry "I've been meaning to tame it into a more manageable condition." Penelo knew differently. She'd hit a sore spot and resolved to hold her tongue next time.

Not that it ever came as Larsa kept his hair very short for every visit she made after with plenty of comments from Basch hinting that the young Emperor only cut it when he knew for sure she was coming to visit.

* * *

Penelo, absent Vaan, meandered her way through the vast streets with the distant but imposing palace looming ahead.

She liked the walk. Penelo more especially liked to listen to the sounds of the city around her, hearing the countless and nameless denizens go about their daily lives. The wonderfully constructed streets were filled with color, music and ever present drone of the many voices in the crowd.

Penelo smiled, her steps that much lighter as she listened to the excitement for the festivities of the Emperor's ascension day that drew near.

She came to a sudden halt, sniffed dramatically before turning on her heel.

"No... way..." she murmured. A nearby stall was serving Dalmascan delicacies and Penelo had smelled her favorite dish since childhood – sugared sweet cacti tart.

Her stomach won a short fight with her brain and she was soon fighting to get to the front of the queue.

"One please! I mean... actually two!" she chirped happily at the attendant who only acknowledged her order with a grunt and faint nod.

While she waited, half on the counter with legs swinging free in the air, she felt something tug at her right pocket. A quick glance to the right and she spotted a boy with deep blue eyes and short black hair. A boy who was currently attempting to lift her mother's bracelet from her pocket.

Before she could react, his eyes met hers and he yanked his hand back with the bracelet in its grasp. He bolted through the crowd.

"HEY! THIEF! That's my bracelet!"

* * *

Penelo barrelled out after the boy who was careening through the streets at top speed. She didn't consider herself unfit but after two flights of stairs and going full speed for nearly 10 minutes, exhaustion had set in.

Just as she was about to give up, she skidded into a small square and found the would-be-robber.

"You... little... thief..." Penelo gasped out, deep lungfuls of air burning through her.

The boy glanced back at her worriedly. "Get out of here!" he hissed.

"Give me back my bracelet!" Penelo snapped before she realized that the boy was surrounded. Well, she was surrounded too. Four men, tall, muscular and scarred, were staring at her and the boy who shoved her behind him in a strangely protective move.

"Look at this," a particularly jaded looking one said, stepping forward before halting as Penelo's thief pulled a small blade from wherever he had hidden it.

"Get back," he barked, the sharp metal edge gleaming in the faint light.

"Kid, give it up. There's no going back."

Penelo reached around for her staff, ready for the fight that was clearly coming, when she let out a squeak of surprise.

The boy suddenly rushed her, pushing them both over the shallow wall behind them. They tumbled down the steep hillside in a hail of earth and small stones. When they came to a stop, Penelo was sore, disorientated and desperately thankful that the world had stopped spinning with her head on the right way.

Her thief was in a worse shape. He hissed desperately, gripping his small rib-cage as he got to his feet. Once upright, he glanced up and spotted the men now running to make their way down.

With a brief grimace, he grabbed Penelo's hand and roughly pulled her to her feet.

"COME ON!" he roared before leading the way through a new warren of alleyways.

Penelo, in confusion and full of adrenaline, followed after.

* * *

Nearly 20 minutes of full running later, Penelo found herself crouched in a small ally with her smaller thief who was peering out anxiously for any sign of the men.

"My bracelet," she whispered, waving her hand in front of him. A deep red blush formed along his cheeks as he took the small metal band from his own pocket and handed it to her.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I just needed to borrow it. I would have had it returned to you."

"Oh really," Penelo replied sarcastically before she caught herself. The boy looked to be on the verge of tears and the sight pulled at every soft part of her.

"Hey," she added softly with a comforting hand on his slight shoulder, "What's your name?"

"Henri," he whispered back with watery blue eyes fixed on her.

"It's a nice name," she replied with a smile. "Do you have somewhere nearby that you stay at? Can you get us there?"

Henri nodded. "It's a bit of distance from here."

"No matter to me, Henri. Let's go, eh? Before those idiots find us."

The boy gave a slight smile to her before getting up unsteadily from his crouch, ribs still clearly hurting.

"Once we get there, let's get a look at that injury. Then you are going to tell me everything that's going on."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Old City

Penelo took in the old and crumbling doorway with its clearly heavy wooden door warily.

Her little thief, as she'd come to call Henri no matter how often he'd attempted to apologize for his actions, had rapidly knocked on the door as he'd skidded to a dusty halt at it and now hovered anxiously with eyes darting to take in their surroundings.

He was on edge while they were still exposed and yet refused to explain to Penelo just who those men were that chased them.

The sky had turned from the wispy blue of that morning to an overcast and tumultuous grey. A storm was rolling in and Penelo didn't like the look of it at all.

To her relief, the door finally creaked open and she found herself face to face with a little girl. Big wide blue eyes peered up at her from a heart shaped face framed with long blonde curls.

"Hello," Penelo greeted eagerly, slipping easily from standing to a kneel so she could be less intimidating, "What is your name?"

"Adela," was the meek reply before the girl spotted Henri anxiously trying to get Penelo to move inside. "HENRI!" she chirped as she nearly tripped over Penelo to reach him.

Henri to his great credit managed to sweep her up in one arm while simultaneously gently pushing Penelo forward with his other.

Soon they were firmly within the small dwelling with the solid door slammed shut.

As Henri finally relaxed and gently pried himself free of Adela's surprisingly strong grip, Penelo took a look around with a gently spin on her left heel.

It was small but neatly kept with a few of what Penelo had come to know as Archadian home comforts.

"You guys alone here?" she asked before jumping out of her skin as an older man with a thick head of slightly greying brown hair emerged from a cellar door just next to the rickety staircase.

"That would be no," the newcomer growled.

* * *

"Gods. What a downpour!" Vaan cursed to himself as he finally stumbled into the palace proper.

He was gonna kill Penelo when he saw her. She knew he struggled to make sense of the capital's transport system, with the volumes of traffic going here and there, yet she abandoned him all the same. Now a couple of hours later, he was frustrated, angry and looking like a drowned Chocobo during the Giza rains as he made his grand entrance.

"Vaan. The Emperor has been expecting you."

The pirate grinned. "Bas- Gabranth. It's good to see you!"

Basch returned the smile. "And you. Penelo?"

"She left ahead of me," Vaan retorted with a now furrowed brow. "Isn't she here?"

"One moment," Basch replied before he stepped to a nearby guard. After a few hurried and quietly spoken words, he returned with a more concerned look etched on his usual impassive face. "We best go to the Emperor. He'd specifically requested that you both be brought to him as soon as you arrived."

"But Penelo-"

"I've no doubt that will be the central topic of conversation. Quickly. With me."

* * *

"So you just need to find your folks right? I mean that can't be too difficult."

Henri gave a rueful smile. "That it were so simple. We are not exactly from around here as such."

"The boy speaks truthfully. Nothing you need to concern yourself with however," Thomas replied. "But if we could borrow that bracelet of yours, I would see it returned to you unharmed."

Penelo peered at the pair across from her at the table. "I get the feeling you both want me gone. I mean not involved in this."

"I would be remiss if I allowed any harm to come to you on my part," Henri replied eagerly. "It would be better for you to not be part of this."

"Hmmm. Maybe. But you want my bracelet and I'm not parting from it. So... if you need it then you need me."

Penelo sipped her lukewarm tea and shuffled on the hard surface of the wooden chair she sat in while Henri blanched white.

_Poor kid_ she thought. _He's trying so hard to be an adult, to be strong for his sister when he is only a child himself._

Outside the small house, the storm she's spied earlier was now engulfing the city. The winds and rain battered the wooden shutters and doors, causing ominous and ghostly creaking all over the house. Little Adela had taken to hiding in her room to await the storm's passing.

Penelo herself suddenly started in her chair as she realized she would likely not be going to the palace today at all.

"Listen... is there any way I could get a message out? I'm meant to be going to a party tonight and I just don't want anyone worried. This storm at least means I'm going nowhere today."

Thomas directed her to a small desk with a number of loose sheets of paper with a quill. "My neighbor is a good solid man. He knows Arcadia better than anyone. I'm sure he could deliver your note if persuaded with some coin."

* * *

Vaan watched grimly as more food than he'd seen in his entire life was being ferried through the hallways before disappearing.

He sighed. This party would have been nice but now... well, it wasn't happening.

Another crack of thunder interrupted his thoughts enough to appreciate how bad it really was outside. "Where the hell are you, Penelo..." he mumbled to himself.

"Apparently in the old quarter of the city. We will be departing immediately to retrieve her."

Vaan snapped his attention to his newly arrived companion.

Emperor Larsa now stood as tall as Vayne once had with the same broad frame but with some softer and more beguiling features on his handsome face.

Vaan hated to admit it but the child he'd once known was now a more intimidating man than any he'd previously known. And authoritative.

The moment Larsa had noted Vaan's arrival to his office and Penelo's distinct absence he'd immediately cancelled everything. The whole damn celebration that had clearly taken months of preparation. Gone.

The Councillors had argued; Basch had argued; and Larsa had decided. If they wished to have a party with the Emperor absent then they could. He would be out in the city searching for Penelo.

"How do-" Vaan started to ask when Larsa suddenly held up a sheet of paper with what looked like writing in Penelo's careful and practiced hand.

"It arrived a moment ago. She has taken great liberties to inform me that she is currently in safe refuge in old Archades but no details of how it came to pass that she found herself there. The description given of where the dwelling lies matches one that Gabranth recognizes hence I've dispatched the Judge along with a team to secure it. We must be off."

"It says here..." Vaan quickly replied with eyes squinting at the damp sheet,"... that she will be here tomorrow and not to send for her. That she is safe. I mean Penelo will be pretty upset at us turning up. I know how this goes."

"And that anger will be mine to brave alone. Do you wish to remain here then?"

Vaan scratched the back of his head. "Naaaah. I'm used to Penelo being mad at me. Not letting you take this one on your own. Let's go."

* * *

"I fear I am quite the insufficient host to only be able to offer you such poor lodgings," Thomas said quietly after handing Penelo a number of cushions and blankets to make her stay on his tiny lounger somewhat more enjoyable.

They were the last stragglers for sleep, Henri having disappeared to rest with Adela about a hour before.

"Don't worry about it. I've slept in worse places. Believe me. This..." Penelo glanced around with a wry grin, "... is a palace in comparison."

Thomas, ever the Archadian gentlemen, bowed to her before he made to take his leave. One foot had barely touched the stairs when his front door nearly rattled from its hinges from the intensity of the knock.

Both Penelo and Thomas glanced at each other before both as though one moved to open it. Before either could reach it, the door was ruptured from its lock, tearing the mechanism itself from the wall.

Penelo braced her staff while Thomas dived to grab his sword hanging on a hook nearby. Her grip eased off as Penelo huffed out a sigh of resignation when Larsa stepped in from the wild stormy darkness.

"Penelo!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Moved

"I thought I'd written specifically that you were not to come here," Penelo sighed as Larsa strode in from the outside with howling winds at his back; followed as always by his distinct retinue which included for the moment a frowning Vaan.

"I interpreted that particular portion of your letter as advice rather than a command," Larsa replied lightly, his gaze focused on Penelo with an almost ferocious intent.

He quickly scanned her, noting no visible injuries or discomfort. "I'm glad to find that you appear well at least but looks are oft so very deceiving. Are you alright?"

Penelo couldn't wrestle up the energy to be mad at Larsa, not with the big Giza Rabbit style eyes he was peering down at her with. That height difference was still so disconcerting to her. Once upon a time he was barely level with her shoulder.

"I'm fine. Thank you."

"Well..," Larsa suddenly barked out as he spun on his heel to face Thomas. "I must give you my thanks for taking care of my dearest friend."

The bemused older man merely nodded. "It was my pleasure, Emperor Larsa."

"How has it come to pass that I find her here?"

Penelo fielded this one. "That's on me. You see-"

* * *

"I stole from her."

All gazes snapped at the bleary-eyed Henri who emerged from the small room to the side."I... took her bracelet a-"

"AND gave it back!" Penelo jumped in, placing herself physically between Larsa and the child to ensure the focus was on her. "We talked and I came here. Henri needs help and I'm..."

She peered back at Henri over her shoulder and gave him a warm smile. "... I'm gonna help. He needs to find a way home to his parents."

"That shouldn't be too difficult. Where can they be located?"

"That's a complicated question, my Lord," Thomas answered behind him.

Larsa's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Clarify."

"They are in a distant land, one not quite accessible easily."

Larsa frowned. "We are a nation full of technological advancements with airships that cross all of Ivalice. There is nowhere out of our reach surely."

"Well... you see... they're not quite here. Here but not here maybe?"

The young Emperor stared intently at Thomas who was now sweating profusely under the pressure but Larsa suddenly sighed and pinched the bridge of his perfect nose.

"I'd press you on the answers but it's late; and I must return to the palace. I will be seeking answers in the morning and I expect more than what you've said tonight."

Larsa turned those vibrant blue eyes on Penelo. "Do you have your belongings to hand? We must go before the storm worsens," he smoothly said with her hands clasped tightly in his before he stepped away to direct a number of quiet orders to some of his personnel guards.

Shortly after the Emperor had left, Vaan himself broke out into a broad smile. "Geez. How bright red are you!" he chuckled to Penelo who suddenly realized how flushed her cheeks had become.

"I'm gonna kill you later," she growled at Vaan who just kept laughing to himself.

"Penelo?"

She snapped her head back to face Larsa. "Yeah?"

"Let's go. We can continue this again in the 'moro. These new friends of yours must come with us to the palace."

"I can't leave the door to poor Thomas's house like this," Penelo began to argue.

"Gabranth and Hessin will remain to oversee the repairs. The building will not be left unsecured."

"But your party-"

"Another story for another time," Larsa replied softly as his right hand snapped out and grabbed Penelo's once more. He held it carefully for a brief moment with thumb skimming her skin before he swiftly moved it into the more gentlemanly curve of his elbow as Larsa began to escort her out.

Just before the door, Larsa took off his outer jacket which did nothing to help Penelo's blush before he placed it securely over her bare shoulders.

"Larsa, you can't! What about you? I mean... you're the Emperor... remember? I'm just me."

To his credit, Larsa kept his silence, merely smiling with an intensity that she didn't ever recall seeing before taking her arm firmly once more and leading her out into the storm, easily crossing the short distance to the waiting shuttle.

* * *

"So... no party," Penelo replied numbly once safely ensconced in Larsa's private rooms with Vaan for company.

The others, including the tired children she'd wanted to save, were being shown to their rooms while Larsa met briefly with some of his aides.

"Yep!" Vaan replied as he stretched out on the nearby couch. "You were missing and Larsa just dropped everything to find you."

"He shouldn't have," she mumbled, sinking down to the floor into a crouch.

"Why not?" Vaan mused as he flipped himself onto his side to keep his eyes on her.

"I'm a street rat from Rabanstre. I'm not important."

"You are to me," was the booming reply from Larsa who caught the last part of the conversation as he arrived to his living quarters. "Parties can be re-scheduled. I won't ever find friends like you again in my lifetime," he added before offering a hand to Penelo. He pulled her up to her feet easily enough before leading her to the adjoining room with Vaan in tow.

"I had the staff arrange this. I imagine you both must be famished at this point," Larsa said softly as he helped seat Penelo at the ornate dining table covered in fine foods and finer wine.

"Let us not waste the night at least. A good meal and conversation with friends is what I need more than a party," Larsa added with a grin.

Penelo could only smile as he offered her a glass full of rich burgundy wine. She blinked as their fingers touched briefly, then felt the hot flush once more rising on her cheeks.

She blindly took a large gulp of the wine, before glaring daggers at Vaan who started laughing at her.

_This was going to be a long night_, Penelo mused to herself.


End file.
